Read Online The Hurst Chronicles (Book 1): Hurst by Robin Crumby - Free Book Online

come back.” she called out, her voice breaking with emotion.
     
    Jack managed a weak smile, “We will,” he mouthed, nodding his head gently. He turned, closed his eyes for a moment and then hurried away.
     
    At the top level of the platform, before he left, he scratched a large skull and crossbones with his knife into the stone, to warn others never to approach this cursed place again. 
     

Chapter Twelve
     
    Picking their way along the main road at walking pace, rounding abandoned cars and other detritus that littered their path, Zed cursed under his breath.  The bulky Mitsubishi Land Cruiser in front was carrying Mila and Riley and bumped heavily over some loose rubble. With a loud hiss, their back right tyre deflated. The Mitsubishi rumbled over to the side of the street and stopped, scraping on its rims.
     
    Zed pulled in behind them and switched off the Land Rover’s ignition. He leaned forward over the steering wheel and peered out of the windscreen up at the buildings to the left of them. It was a row of suburban houses on the outskirts of town that overlooked what would once have been tidy flowerbeds full of roses and hydrangea bushes and manicured lawns. Today, those same gardens were an impassable tangle of weeds and bushes, grass growing lush and long. Zed shook his head. “Not good, not good at all,” he muttered to himself. Sean sat beside him in the front passenger seat of the Land Rover, looked back at him puzzled.
     
    “So what?” he said shrugging his shoulders, unfazed by this latest set back. “We got a spare, yeah? We fix it and be on our way. It’ll take ten minutes. Tops.”
     
    Zed shook his head. “Not here. Not now. In broad daylight? It’s too dangerous. If that convoy comes past again we’ll be sitting ducks.”
     
    He jumped out of the car and closed the driver’s door quietly, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. They were vulnerable here and needed to get moving fast. Riley was already out inspecting the damage, her hands on hips, shaking her head.
     
    Zed got down on his hands and knees and felt round the circumference of the tyre feeling for a hole. He found it quickly. There was a large gash made by a fallen piece of sharp masonry and glass, some of which was still lodged in the gash. He picked out a couple of smaller shards and dropped them clinking on the tarmac. He sat back on his haunches scratching the back of his head.
     
    Sean stood behind him. “What do you want to do boss? Fix it or dump it and come back later when it’s dark?”
     
    “We leave it some place safe and come back for it. There’s a lock up round the corner we can use, nice and quiet. Transfer all the gear to the Land Rover and we carry on.”
     
    “You sure about this Zed?” asked Riley. “With what happened to Bob and Will. Now this? It’s not our lucky day, eh? I say we cut our losses and come back tomorrow and start again.”
     
    “I’m not leaving Will out here. We find out where they took him and then we make the call.” He un-holstered his revolver and put another couple of rounds from his breast pocket into the empty chambers. He span the wheel and snapped it shut with a tilt of his wrist. A boyish grin illuminated his face. Life felt better with a loaded gun. “Boys and their toys,” mocked Riley. Zed looked back at her, his head cocked to one side. “We owe it to Will to at least try, don’t we? You’d do it for me right Riley?” he smirked. Riley shook her head and walked away. They both knew the answer.
     
    Mila and Sean helped transfer their gear to the other vehicle. Cardboard boxes and rucksacks were packed full of the stuff they had scavenged from this morning’s house searches. It was food mostly, plus a few other assorted items, CDs, books and tools. The back of the Land Rover was packed to bursting. They had stacked a couple of boxes on the back seat, making things a little cramped when they all climbed back in, shoulders touching. Sean was